Cuba USA

Has the left failed in Latin America?

by Emir Sader

source La Jornada

translation Cuba - Network in Defense of Humanity

Even still in the current crisis of some of these countries, the forces that are called on to overcome the crisis in a progressive manner are the Latin American left of the 21st century. The right wing proposes reinstalling conservative and repressive measures – the Mauricio Macri government is a clear example – and the ultra left wing is a sector with little political weight. The future of Latin America in the new century depends on the disputes between the post neo liberal governments and projects to reinstall neo liberalism.

At the beginning of the neo liberal period adhesions to the new model were widespread and rapid. Beginning with the dictatorship of Pinochet in Chile; the new model of nationalisms such as the PRI in Mexico and the Peronism of Menem in Argentina; the social democratic parties in Chile, Venezuela and Brazil. It was an overbearing beginning that seemed no current could escape. The Washington consensus only thought to try to consolidate theoretically the conversion of almost all the political forces of this model.

However, the neo liberal rise was short lived. Quickly the three large economies of the continent – Mexican in 1994; Brazilian in 1999 and Argentinean in 2001/2002 – have dealt blows to the crisis and have broken with the euphoria of the success of the model. There main leaders have been defeated and some sent to prison – Fujimori, Carlos Andrés Pérez – and some have been marked forever by the negative experience of their governments – such as Cardoso and Menem and others. The economies have not begun to grow; concentrations of profits have increased as well as the public debt. The neo liberal model – the great project of reconversion modernizing the right wing – has failed all along. They were repeatedly defeated in several countries and in others with right wing governments have not had any success.

The left wing has resisted as best it could until taking the initiative again with the elections of Hugo Chávez in Venezuela, in1998; of Lula in Brazil in 2002; of Néstor Kirchner in Argentina in 2003, of Tabaré Vázquez in Uruguay in 2004; of Evo Morales in Bolivia in 2005, of Rafael Correa in Ecuador in 2006. There have been processes to battle poverty and destitution in the most unequal continent in the world even in those governments that received the hardest legacy such as prolonged recessions, more unequal societies, more weakened States.

Since then these countries have had moments of great economic growth, political stability and reduction of poverty and destitutions in their histories still in the international crisis of recession and increase of inequalities. It was at least a decade in which these nations had a virtuous scheme of growth and distribution of wealth. During these processes have risen leaders such as Hugo Chávez, Lula, Néstor and Cristina Kirchner, Pepe Mujica, Evo Morales and Rafael Correa, and many others.

Meanwhile the right wing has placed its chips in countries such as Mexico and Peru with immense failures. Even when the economy grows in these nations, social indexes have not improved. The heads of states

that have followed, one after the other are discredited and defatted politically. Referring to the ultra left wing it has remained in its theoretical criticisms but in no country have they built an alternative that is always led by the right wing. No important leader has appeared in the right wing as in the ultra left wing.

Discredited and defeated politically

After resisting the largest crisis of international capitalism since1929 still the post neo liberal governments suffer the consequences of a deep and long international recession. Added to errors of internal policy, crises appear in some of these nations with electoral defeats in Argentina and Venezuela and a wearing down of the governments of Brazil and Ecuador.

However, even if these countries manage to recover it is obvious that there was a failure of the Latin American left wing. Failure that can be mentioned in countries such as Mexico and Peru in which political and social erosion in these governments has not been taken advantage of by the left to elect governments and build alternatives to neo

liberalism. In the governments in which the left wing ruled it put in process a virtuous model of economic development with distribution of the wealth, even contrary to international tendency. It is the only region

in the world in which anti neo liberal governments were elected and began to put in practice processes to break from neo liberalism. The immense positive social transformations in these societies remain and are unquestionable signs of the success of these governments.

The left wing heads of state have managed to strengthen regional integration for all of Latin America and the Caribbean for the first time in their history; relatively autonomous processes contrary to the United States. So that these governments appear as the axis of world left wing forces in the 21st century a reference even for the forces of the new European left wing such as Syriza and Podemos.

Even in the current crisis of some of the countries the forces necessary to overcome progressively the crisis are the Latin American left wing of the 21st century. The right wing intends to restore conservatism and repression – the government of Mauricio Macri in Argentina is a clear example – and the ultra left wing is a sector with little political weight. The future of Latin America in the new century depends on the dispute between post neo liberal governments and projects to restore neo liberalism.

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